Opium Kitchen & Bar

What is Opium Kitchen & Bar? Set along the lively Dundas West strip near Rusholme Road in Little Portugal, Opium Kitchen & Bar is an atmospheric lounge founded by Torontonian Michael Zhang. The room channels vintage moodiness with exposed brick, deep red and purple lighting, hanging lanterns, and neon accents. Seating is deliberately intimate, offering stools at the well-stocked bar counter, compact two-to-four-top tables, and a curbside patio during warmer months.

Opium Kitchen & Bar Menu & What to Order The kitchen focuses on shareable pan-Asian comfort fare and late-night drinking snacks built to complement the house cocktails. Standouts include the crackly, seasoned Opium Fried Chicken, pan-fried beef and onion jiaozi dumplings, and fresh noodles drenched in a savory beef and mushroom sauce. Vegetarians are well accommodated with steamed vegetable dumplings and meatless noodle bowls. Wash it down with "The Opium"—a dramatic smoky specialty cocktail—or the delicate, sake-and-gin "Feng Shui" garnished with lychee.

Know Before You Go With limited interior seating, the room fills up swiftly on Friday and Saturday nights after 9:00 p.m.; small parties can generally walk in, but email ahead to secure space for larger groups. Arriving via public transit is straightforward using the 505 Dundas streetcar, with street parking available along the Dundas corridor. The bar runs Wednesday through Saturday evenings, serving food and drinks well past midnight.